Bondi, 59, was sworn in as attorney general in a White House ceremony Wednesday and began issuing new directives as part of the department’s overhaul in personnel and mission. Those changes have been driven by Trump’s crackdown on immigration and his complaints that the agency was weaponized in charging him with federal crimes.
Bondi issued a spate of orders, including creating a “weaponization working group” to investigate criminal probes of Trump’s alleged criminal actions conducted by former Special Counsel
Another directive calls for a pause on federal funding to so-called sanctuary cities, a term that refers to jurisdictions that restrict the sharing of information about undocumented immigrants. One order authorizes investigations into state or local jurisdictions that impede immigration enforcement efforts, while yet another allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty for criminal offenses when appropriate.
Bondi also issued an order to disband the national security division’s corporate enforcement unit and placing limits on the kinds of crimes prosecutors can pursue related to foreign lobbying.
Charges under the Foreign Agents Registration Act “shall be limited to instances of alleged conduct similar to more traditional espionage by foreign government actors,” according to the order. The department’s counterintelligence and export control section “shall focus on civil enforcement, regulatory initiatives and public guidance.”
Workforce Overhaul
As Bondi awaited Senate confirmation, interim department leaders
In a sign of the importance the department will play in enacting Trump’s agenda, one of the president’s first executive orders was “to correct past misconduct by the federal government related to the weaponization of law enforcement and the weaponization of the intelligence community.” A department spokesperson said in a statement that Bondi supports the directive and “strong action to restore one tier of justice for all Americans.”
During her confirmation hearing last month, Bondi pledged that all department officials will be held to an “equal, fair system of justice.” She said her overriding objective “would be to return the Department of Justice to its core mission of keeping Americans safe and vigorously enforcing the law.” The DOJ is also in charge of defending the administration’s policies in court.
“Under my watch, the partisan weaponization of the Department of Justice will end,” Bondi said. America must have one tier of justice for all.” She has been a loyal Trump ally for years and at times has repeated his claims that the department’s investigations of his conduct have been laced with politics.
Trump Ally
In 2020, Bondi served on Trump’s legal defense team during his first impeachment by the US House. Trump ultimately was acquitted of allegations that he abused his power by withholding military aid from Ukraine to pressure government officials to help undermine his then-political rival in the presidential contest,
As Florida’s attorney general until 2019, Bondi earned national attention for her efforts to overturn
Since Bondi’s hearing, Trump appointees leading the department on an acting basis have implemented significant policy changes. Staff have been shifted to enact the administration’s aggressive stance on immigration enforcement and away from other types of cases. Employees were also told they faced “adverse consequences” if they fail to report diversity and inclusion programs.
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Rapid Changes
In the run-up to her confirmation, the Justice Department sought to distance Bondi from the rapid changes by the new administration, while acknowledging she will play a key role in advancing Trump’s conservative agenda.
“Like every nominee in any administration, Pam Bondi does not have a decision-making role at the department until she is confirmed and sworn-in as the attorney general,” Justice Department spokesman Gates McGavick said in a statement prior to the confirmation vote.
One of Bondi’s first challenges will be handling tensions between the FBI and Justice Department leadership. FBI Acting Director Brian Driscoll told the agency’s rank-and-file in a memo on Friday that he’d been told eight senior FBI executives were to be fired by specific dates if they didn’t retire first.
The FBI was also asked to turn over by Tuesday a list of all current and former FBI staff who worked on investigations or prosecutions related to the Capitol riot. Bloomberg News reported Tuesday that the FBI sent over information about agents and other employees who worked on cases.
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FBI agents sued on Tuesday to prevent the department from developing a list of bureau employees who investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol attack that could be used to identify them publicly, saying it could make them a target for retaliation.
Critics say the recent moves by the DOJ’s interim leaders risk losing institutional knowledge of career employees exiting the department and politicizing the agency’s work.
(Updates with directives issued by Bondi.)
--With assistance from
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Elizabeth Wasserman, Steve Stroth
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